The Toll-Road to Immortality - Volume 2 Chapter 17

What's this? A chapter?? And it hasn't even been a whole week!?Calvin was not late to his meeting with Ariadne. He’d had to sprint most of the way, was still nursing a rather unpleasant headache, and had a pill bottle in his pocket that he really probably shouldn’t be just carrying around, but he wasn’t late! Oh, and he’d even remembered to wash the moderately-concerning quantity of dried blood off his face! 

Unlike during his previous two visits, he wasn’t made to wait outside the gates. Instead, they opened at his approach and he was met by not just Madam Chloe, but a small entourage of servants.  He also wasn’t led to the clearing where he’d previously met with Ariadne but rather into the manor itself. The building’s interior was every bit as grand as he’d imagined, with a lavishly decorated entryway that could have easily fit his entire villa with room to spare. However he wasn’t given much of a chance to look around as he was quickly ushered up a grand flight of stairs, down a corridor lined with paintings and statues, and finally into a well appointed sitting room where Ariadne was already waiting for him.

And she was waiting for him, there was no doubt about it. She lay partially reclined on a low couch, body propped up on one side by plush cushions in brightly-dyed and embroidered cases. Her fingers were resting lightly on the table and her aura withdrawn, but the half-lidded gaze that snapped to him the moment he stepped through the door felt vaguely like getting speared through the chest. 

He stopped only a step into the room, the door clicking shut behind him, and realized that maybe he should have changed into something a little bit more…formal. Or at least taken some pains to clean up a little bit more than just the bare minimum after spending a night passed out on the ground surrounded by dirt and plants.

Ariadne certainly wasn’t dressed nearly as casually as she had been during their previous two meetings at her home, nor even in the fashion she typically wore out and about the sect. Instead she looked like the very picture of a noble young mistress of Vivid Rainbow Cliffs. She wore a flowing, emerald-green gown in a style he didn’t recognize but that certainly didn’t look very imperial and heeled sandals decorated with silver filigree, a metallic strand of delicate-looking silver flowers woven into her cascading black hair.

The sitting room too was clearly a step up over the garden. Even with the scroll’s help, Calvin often struggled to tell the difference between levels of opulence, but he suspected that this room was intended to quietly remind guests of the Locke’s wealth and influence. The furniture—a wall of bookshelves, two low couches, and a similarly low table between them—was all made primarily of some dark, extremely lustrous wood shot through with metallic ripples of gold, while the tabletop was a single smooth panel of rainbow jade. The ceiling was decorated with an intricate mosaic of the Locke clan emblem against a backdrop of endless rainbow trees, and the floor, where it wasn’t covered by richly dyed rugs, looked almost like the surface of a still lake. 

His eyes were momentarily drawn to the bookshelves, which were laden down with books, scrolls, and various trinkets he couldn’t identify at a glance. Most of the books and scroll racks lacked identifiable information, but he was suddenly extremely curious what sort of texts and treasures warranted display in rooms such as this one. Nothing truly valuable, certainly, but unfortunately he doubted he’d ever get the chance to find out for certain.

There was a subtle shift in the air, like a silent exhalation, and suddenly Calvin found his eyes drawn magnetically back to Ariadne’s reclining form. For a moment the rest of the room seemed so much less important than the curve of her pale neck half-hidden beneath her hair, the sliver of ankle emerging from beneath her skirts, the way her gown hugged tightly around her slender waist and—

Calvin blinked and the moment passed. Ariadne was smiling softly at him, amusement dancing in her shining eyes. She still looked beautiful, almost captivatingly so, but somehow…lesser than he was used too.

“Good morning, brother Calvin,” she greeted him warmly without rising from her seat. “It seems my efforts to veil myself have not been in vain if you could look away so easily.” She laughed softly, and Calvin realized that the sound didn’t linger in his ears like it usually did when she was amused. “I’ll admit, it’s intensely unpleasant, but I wanted us to have a frank conversation.” She gestured smoothly to the couch across from her. “Please, won’t you take a seat?”

Calvin silently stared at Ariadne for several seconds. Not because he was entranced, but rather the opposite. He hadn’t been quite sure what to expect from this meeting, but this certainly wasn’t it. Plus, well, it was very strange to be able to just look at Ariadne without becoming enraptured.

Ariadne raised one perfect eyebrow. “Well? I did say this was rather unpleasant, did I not?”

Calvin started. He blamed it on the headache. “Right, sorry.” He hurried over to the couch, taking a seat with his knees bent up at an awkward angle. It really was very low to the ground. “Good morning, sister Ariadne. I, uh, appreciate the effort. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting?”

After a moment, he tried to copy Ariadne’s partially reclined posture. He quickly found that he couldn’t just mirror her position but had to face the other way, his head pointing towards the door and feet towards the windows. The low couches were backless and asymmetrical, only one side having an arm and laden with cushions like pillows on a bed.

It was Ariadne’s turn to watch him for several very long, very awkward seconds as he did his best to make himself comfortable. The cushions were extremely comfortable—as soft as clouds and with just the right amount of give—but he’d only ever seen illustrations of this kind of couch. You were supposed to recline on one arm while leaving the other free. They’d fallen out of fashion in Vivid Rainbow Cliffs millennia ago, and were only really used by the old families. Probably why Ariadne looked so much in her element.

Eventually she sighed. “We’ll work on it,” she murmured, words just loud enough for Calvin to make out. Before he could say anything she continued in a more normal voice, resting the fingers of her free hand lightly on the table between them. “In the interest of brevity, I will jump right into things. I assume you’ve done at least some preliminary investigation of your own?” 

When Calvin nodded in confirmation, she continued. “Then I will not mince words. As you are now, there is nothing you can do to so much as inconvenience the Vane clan.” She let her words hang in the air and Calvin grimaced but did not contradict her. She wasn’t wrong.

“Aeolus himself is but the first obstacle, but he is already more than you are equipped to handle. He is a cultivator in the middle stages of the Core realm, and one with the backing of a family as ancient as the Eight Peaks sect itself. They are far from the mightiest clan within the sect, but their foundation is far beyond your comprehension. The patriarch of the clan is an elder in the Unity realm, and he is only one of two such powerhouses, not to mention a multitude of Core and Soul realm experts.”

She continued on, her voice flat and emotionless. “Then there is the matter of his personal backing. Even discounting his clan, Aeolus is a member of Earth Peak’s Ore Hall and thus an honorary disciple of Elder Teng Fong—another Unity realm expert. Their relationship is not close, but there is only so much disrespect a master can tolerate directed upon his disciple before it becomes an attack upon his own face. Without adequate support of your own, even clear evidence of wrongdoing will be brushed aside.”

Ariadne fell silent, watching Calvin expectantly. For a time he said nothing, slowly digesting the flood of information.

None of it was really that surprising and, at the end of the day, for him the difference between one and three Unity realm cultivators was purely academic. For the moment, any one of them could squash him like a bug. He doubted he’d even really be able to tell the difference between one of them and someone in the Soul realm—or even just the upper reaches of the Core realm—if they decided to ignore decorum and just brush him out of the way. At least it sounded like none of them were anything more than regular sect elders. That was…maybe something?

Calvin nodded slowly. “Well. It could be worse.”

Ariadne let out a choked sound somewhere between a laugh and a cough. “It could be worse?” she echoed.

He shrugged. “I mean…we could always be dealing with, like, the Sect Master’s favorite nephew or something.”

Ariadne was silent for a moment. She bit down on her lower lip and squeezed her eyes shut, her shoulders shaking, and Calvin realized she was suppressing a rather undignified laugh. After a moment she raised her hand to cover her lips and met his eyes. “Well, yes, that’s certainly one way of looking at things.“

She turned away, staring out the windows overlooking the gardens around her manor and the halls of Outer Village beyond. She looked rather pensive, and Calvin did not interrupt her reverie. He didn’t think Ariadne would have gone to such lengths—meeting him as an honored guest, getting all dressed up, suppressing her physique—if she’d just planned to dump such bleak news onto his shoulders and walk away.

Ariadne hummed softly. The sound lacked its usual hypnotic intensity but was no less melodic for it. Ariadne’s voice was as sweet and smooth as honey, but to Calvin’s ears it sounded tired. “It certainly puts things into perspective, doesn’t it,” she mused softly. “Things could always be worse.”

Calvin got the sense Ariadne was no longer talking about Gwen’s kidnapping. That was somewhat annoying, but it was also potentially an opportunity. Even after interacting with her for years he still had little sense of what the seemingly flighty yet enigmatic girl actually wanted. It was nice to be able to have an actual conversation with her without most of his attention devoted to keeping his mind from wandering too much.

“They can also get better,” he declared firmly. “As long as you’re alive, tomorrow can always be better than today.”

Ariadne did not react immediately, continuing to stare out the window. Her hand rose to brush a strand of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear and then falling slowly to rest on her leg. “There are worse fates out there than something so simple as death.” 

Calvin shrugged. She wasn’t wrong. He’d seen the cruelties even mortals and weak cultivators could inflict on others, fates that made death look like a welcome escape. No doubt there were uncountable awful things a motivated powerhouse could do to someone. She’d likely know better than he did. “You’re probably right. But I still stand by my statement.”

Ariadne sighed heavily. “You’re certainly quite the optimist today, brother Calvin,” she remarked.

“And you’re not?” he challenged. “Would I be here today otherwise?”

“Probably not, no.” She admitted. “Though I fear many would call me a fool instead. By all rights I should have told you to get lost the moment I realized what had happened.”

Calvin tilted his head to the side, watching the side of Ariadne’s face closely. He looked past the ruby lips and jade-like skin. He looked past the elegant features and hypnotic eyes.  

There was a distant hollowness in Ariadne’s eyes that he’d never noticed before. She looked almost…wistful. Or maybe hopeful? No, that wasn’t it.

Mostly though she looked tired. He knew the look well, though it seemed terribly out of place on Ariadne’s elegant features. It was the exhaustion Calvin associated with looming, inevitable, impersonal doom. He’d seen it on far too many faces, most of them young and gaunt. Hunger. Cold. Flesh gangs and unscrupulous madams. 

Calvin wondered if he was seeing shadows, or maybe just what Ariadne wanted him to see. He didn’t think that was the case. Rather, with her physique suppressed, it was suddenly possible to look at her and actually see. For the first time, he had a genuine chance to understand something about the Ariadne beneath the stories and the glamour. 

Still, as curious as he was to uncover what exactly was eating at his tentative friend, this meeting wasn’t about that. He had his priorities. “Yet here we are.”

Ariadne nodded once. “Yet here we are.” With one final look out the window she turned back to face him, schooling her expression. She fixed him with a hard stare, eyes sharp the way he’d only really seen them once before. Her aura did not flare, but he could still practically feel its icy kiss. 

Calvin met her challenge head on, though their reclined positions made it feel rather awkward to just stare into her eyes. It felt more intimate than adversarial, not helped by just how comfortable the couch beneath him was. Even without anything messing with his head, Ariadne was an almost impossibly gorgeous young woman and it was all too easy to imagine her wearing something a lot less conservative…and opaque. Especially since he had rather vivid memories to go along with his imagination.

“You are a talented cultivator,” Ariadne stated simply after several seconds. “Perhaps even a genius.”

It wasn’t really a question, but Calvin took it as one anyway. He wobbled his hand in a so-so gesture. “A little bit above average, maybe. Not nearly as talented as you, by all accounts.”

Ariadne looked unimpressed. “A little bit above average, hmm?”

Calvin shrugged. “I certainly don’t have an extreme physique nor a sky ranked spirit root. Like I said, I’m maybe a little bit above average in terms of talent, but nothing special.”

“Right.” An unreadable expression flashed across Ariadne’s face and she briefly tilted her head back, staring up at the mosaic on the ceiling. She took a deep breath and looked back towards him. “Calvin,” she began, her voice tight, “do you know what usually happens to a ‘nothing special’ cultivator when they are struck head on by an attack from a weapon a full stage ahead of them?” She didn’t wait for him to answer, leaning forward and pressing her hand flat against the table. “They die, Calvin. They don’t just walk it off. You were seen getting dinner with Gwen looking no worse for wear the next day.”

Oh right. That. Calvin shrugged again. “I got lucky. My attunement countered his and I just happened to know an appropriate defensive technique.” It was even mostly true. He had gotten very lucky to receive such a versatile and powerful defensive technique.

Ariadne pinched the bridge of her nose as though trying to stave off a headache. “Calvin, this isn’t an inquisition. I’m trying to help you.”

“Sorry?” he tried. “My talent really isn’t anything special. I have an earthly spirit root I’ve never even tried to refine further and I definitely wasn’t born with any sort of special physique.”

He paused for a moment, then decided to extend at least some measure of trust. He was pretty sure Ariadne was genuinely trying to help him, though no doubt she had her own reasons for doing so. “Though I did drink an elixir that granted me acquired Golden Jade Marrow. That’s definitely been pretty helpful.”

Ariadne looked like she’d been about to say something, but her teeth clicked shut at his words. She blinked. “Where the hell did you get something like that?” she exclaimed. “And when?”

Calvin smiled innocently. Now that he certainly wasn’t going to tell her. “I found it,” he said simply. “And it took a while to kick in, so I’ve only really had the marrow for less than a month now. It’s pretty handy.” His smile narrowed. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t go spreading that around, sister.”

Ariadne nodded. “Of course not, Calvin.” A hint of her usual tone crept into her voice, something subtle brushing Calvin’s senses like a sweet, distant fragrance. “How could I possibly break my savior’s trust?”

Calvin looked unimpressed.

Ariadne rolled her eyes. “Right, anyway, we’re getting off track.” She took a deep breath and grew serious. “I’m not just asking because I’m curious. I’m asking because, as you are now, there is absolutely nothing you can do against the Vane family, but—“

Calvin cut her off. “I am not just going to sit back and wait until I’ve advanced to the Unity realm!” he exclaimed. That wasn’t a plan! He probably did need to get stronger, but just quietly keeping his head down and cultivating wasn’t going to get him anywhere anytime soon. “Even if I do have the talent to make it that far, that sort of advancement takes years! Decades! Centuries even! Gwen may have broken through to the Foundation realm, but even in the best case scenario she’ll be an old woman by the time—“

The full force of Ariadne’s physique hit him in the face like a bucket of ice water, dousing the fiery anger that had begun to rise within him unprompted. Calvin choked on his own tongue, his eyes snapping towards Ariadne’s gracefully reclined form, and found the most beautiful being in all existence gazing back at him with disapproval in her eyes. 

Through clenched teeth Calvin bit out, “Damn it. Ariadne. Don’t. Do. That.” His hands curled into firsts, nails digging into his palms, but he could barely force himself to blink, much less look away.

Ariadne looked surprised, then pensively apologetic. The inexorable attraction vanished, though she definitely wasn’t doing as thorough a job suppressing her physique as before. “My apologies, brother Calvin. I merely wanted to draw your attention. That was not, in fact, what I was suggesting.”

It took Calvin a moment to remember what exactly Ariadne was talking about. He was more concerned with wondering how the hell he would even begin fighting someone with a physique such as Ariadne’s when his first instinct was to do anything and everything to please her. Was there some aspect of his spirit that could be trained to resist it? Another technique he was missing from his arsenal? 

“Then what were you suggesting?” 

Judging from the look Ariadne gave him, he might have come off just a little bit too heated, but he couldn’t help it. He was tired, he was frustrated, his head still hurt like someone was pounding on it with a mallet, and dealing with Ariadne’s Ariadness could be frustrating at the best of times. Ever since his encounter with the Hound of Conquest he’d been far more cognizant of just how strongly her mere presence could affect him, and he didn’t really like it.

“Sorry,” he added. “Please forgive my interruption, sister.”

Thankfully, that seemed to be enough to mollify her. “But of course, Calvin. In any case, as I have said previously, in your current state there is nothing you can truly do against the Vane family.” She paused, but this time Calvin did not interrupt her. Ariadne closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Answer me honestly, Calvin, please, and you need not justify your answer. Do you truly believe you have the capacity to someday reach the Unity realm?”

“Yes, I do.” It was a terribly arrogant answer, so much so that Calvin hesitated to put it into words. Yue Gwey had scoffed at his confidence in simply reaching the Core realm, much less stepping beyond, but how could he not be confident? 

He had not been born with much talent, nor a familial legacy to rely on, but what did that matter in the face of a supreme treasure such as the Scroll, The Codex of Orin the Wanderer? The Nine Rotating Gates method alone might have been enough to propel him that far, a martial art that provided guidance and techniques appropriate for the ancestor of a Great Sect and even beyond. He could not even comprehend the smallest portions of those techniques, but they were there, waiting for him. 

And that had only been the tip of the iceberg. In depth knowledge of cultivation and advancement, techniques, powerful treasures, and priceless resources. The Scroll had provided all of that and more. Calvin suspected that some day he would no longer have to rely on his Earthly Spirit root, nor be limited to the fragmented and inactive physique he’d been born with. With resources like those, how could he possibly doubt his chances? As long as his future was not cut short by violence or incompetence, he himself did not know his limits.

Despite her words, he expected doubt. Questions. Something. It really was an insane, unbelievable claim. 

Ariadne just nodded.

“I had hoped as much.” She opened her eyes and a hopeful smile bloomed across her lips. It was not a big smile, but it was honest in a way Calvin had rarely seen on her. 

“Then, Calvin, I do believe we can help one another.”